Caribbean Region Business Opportunities

Caribbean Region Business Opportunities

The Caribbean Region (also referred to as the Caribbean, the Caribbean Basin and the West Indies) is a region of the Americas that includes the Caribbean Sea and its islands, which are sorted into three main groups: the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles. As a group, the islands encompass 28 territories (sovereign states, overseas departments and dependencies). The combined population of the Caribbean Region is 39,169,162 (2009).

Although Caribbean countries have progressed in diversifying their economies, most of the nations still depend on tourism and agricultural produce trade. Exceptions to this are Trinidad and the Cayman Islands.

The Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), is an organization of 15 Caribbean nations and dependencies. CARICOM was established by treaty in 1973. The secretariat headquarters is based in Georgetown, Guyana.

Community encompasses a population of 16.7 million, and a combined GDP of 107.8 billion US$ and per Capita GDP of 6,439 US$ [’12 estimates].